PR Playbook: As Gas Prices Rose, So Did Jobing.com’s Exposure

Summary: Escalating gas prices in 2008 fueled a media campaign, highlighting a unique employee benefit at Jobing.com and generating unprecedented media exposure. The media coverage splashed the Jobing.com logo on airwaves all over the country.

Strategy: The vehicle wrap program allowed employees who turn their cars into mobile billboards for the company to get an additional $500 added to their paycheck every month and Jobing.com picks up the tab for 100% of employee fuel costs. The strategy was to launch a two-tiered media campaign capitalizing on gas price buzz; after securing a major national hit I would aggressively reach out to local TV in each of Jobing.com’s markets.

Tactics: The tactics were fairly simple: secure a solid national media placement and use as a springboard for local media outreach. That outlet proved to be the Wall Street Journal, who sent an advance copy of the article to producers at Good Morning America, who also wanted to run a segment the same morning the story would hit the paper.

Results: Jobing.com saw unprecedented national exposure and employee-driven vehicles plastered with company logo were seen by millions of eyeballs. Following the WSJ story and Good Morning America segment were stories on CNN, FOX News, CBS News, Forbes, and the New York Times. Through aggressive local media outreach, the pitch generated numerous local media placements:

Coverage in 11 different Jobing markets, including a feature story w/ photo on the front page of the Denver Post

Local stories from the NBC affiliate in Dallas and FOX affiliate in Phoenix were shared via satellite network feed and ran in an additional 36 U.S. markets

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